Stocks ended another volatile day lower on Wall Street Thursday, bringing the market closer to its first bear market since the beginning of the pandemic.

The S&P 500, the benchmark for many index funds, fell and is now down 18.7 percent from the record high it set early this year, nearly at the 20 percent threshold that defines a bear market.

The dollar slipped across the board on Thursday, falling to a 2-week low, extending its pullback from a two-decade high, as most major currencies battered by the greenback's advance this year drew buyers.

Investors are worried that soaring inflation that's hurting people to shop for groceries and filling their cars up is also walloping profits at US companies. Target fell again, a day after losing a quarter of its value on a surprisingly large drop in earnings.

Oil prices rebounded from two days of losses in a volatile session on Thursday, bolstered by weakness in the dollar and expectations that China could ease some lockdown restrictions that could boost demand.

Watch the accompanying video of CNBC-TV18’s Prashant Nair for more details

-With agency inputs

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First Published:May 20, 2022 8:46 AM IST